This collection of original poems and translations, written in the period 1952 - 2004 has arrived in Toronto, and will soon be available at the estore in the Toronto Estonian House.
Edward A. Roberts, Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Central Michigan University offers the following introduction to the collection.
“In the poetry of Evald Kruut, Nature - the sky, clouds, stars, heavens and sea waves - often serves as a backdrop, sometimes violent and sometimes brooding, always reflecting the inner search of the author for fundamental answers. Soul searching, spiritual longing and the anguish of not knowing what lies ahead are shadowed by approaching darkness. Waves will bury. The humid earth beckons. Man is the plaything of the forces of nature.
Other strains, such as the profound love of liberty, the anguish of senseless capitalistic war and the lighter limericks, offset the existentialist themes. Translations from four different languages, and an original poem in German, demonstrate the author’s multifaceted poetic and lingustic abilities. A journey through the poetry of Evald Kruut is not for those seeking facile entertainment, but it is certainly a rewarding journey.”
The translations are of classics from poets Under, Alver, Kreutzwald, Hugo, Heine, Hesse, Akhmatova and Venevitinov. The quality of these translations has been lauded by Dr. Harri W. Mürk, formerly of Indiana University, Bloomington and the University of Toronto.